Finding the Goods at the Traverse City Farmers Market

Martha Ryan visited the Traverse City Farmers Market Wednesday to stock up on fresh, local produce for her Wednesday night cooking class, which takes place at her European style cafe, Martha’s Leelanau Table (231-271-2344, 413 North St. Joseph St.).

Before heading to the Farmers Market, Ryan wasn’t sure what she was going to teach her class to whip up, however, one look at the pea pods and exotic-looking mushrooms changed that.

Ryan walked her class through the construction a cold salad of radishes, asparagus, mixed greens with edible flowers, Parmesan cheese and, of course, fresh pea pods and shitake and white chanterelle mushrooms tossed in a light vinaigrette. “It’s all about knowing recipes and looking for recipes that are going to incorporate seasonal foods,” Ryan said. “Then I present the recipe to my class and see what they want to do.”

Ryan compared the theme of her cooking class to an episode of Chopped on Food Network. Chopped follows four chefs as they rush to complete a meal in 30 minutes using mystery ingredients found in a basket. While Ryan’s two-hour instructional class is not a competition, the idea of using mystery ingredients to compile something unexpectedly mouthwatering is one that appeals to the chef and Food Network enthusiast.

Sign up for one of Ryan’s Wednesday night cooking classes or visit her restaurant in Suttons Bay and leave the cooking to her.

More about Suttons Bay:

MyNorth.com is the online home of Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine, the flagship publication of MyNorth Media, a Traverse City, Michigan company dedicated to sharing stories and photos about vacations, restaurants, wineries, the outdoors and more from Traverse City to Sleeping Bear Dunes and up to Mackinac Island.